John A. Osborn

John Osborn

John A. Osborn (1939–2000) was an inorganic chemist who made contributions to organometallic chemistry.[1] During that degree Osborn contributed to the development of Wilkinson's catalyst.

Education

He studied at Cambridge University, receiving a bachelor degree with honors. In 1962, he obtained a PhD from Imperial College London under the supervision of Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1973). During this period, he contributed to the development of Wilkinson's catalyst RhCl(PPh3)3.[2] His thesis studies ranged widely.[3]

Career

Osborn's first independent position was at Harvard. His first doctoral student was Richard R. Schrock (Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2005), followed by John R. Shapley and Jay A. Labinger. During this time, the chemistry of [M(diene)(PR3)2]+ was advanced (M = Rh, Ir), laying the foundation for many subsequent developments.[4] With Schrock, he developed the Schrock-Osborn catalyst [(PR3)2RhS2]+ (S = solvent), which is a cationic species derived from the Wilkinson catalyst.[5][6]

At Harvard, he taught organometallic chemistry and homogeneous catalysis with transition metals, inspiring many students to pursue careers in this field, including Ryōji Noyori (Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2001), who was a postdoctoral student at Harvard at the same time.[7] He met Jean-Marie Lehn (Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1987), who was a visiting professor at Harvard in 1972 and then in 1974, and who invited him to join the Louis Pasteur University of Strasbourg in 1975.

In Strasbourg, he became a university professor and headed a CNRS-university research laboratory until his untimely death. During this period, he developed:

- tungsten(VI)-based olefin metathesis catalysts, known to be extremely active;[8]

- catalytic systems for carbonylation reactions (palladium-based)[9] and hydrosilylation reactions (platinum-based);[10]

- the asymmetric synthesis of amines by hydrogenation.[11]

- the catalytic properties of oxo (M=O) and imido (M=NR) complexes leading to new rhenium(VII) molecular catalysts for the rearrangement of allylic alcohols.[12]

References

  1. ^ Schrock, R. (2001). "In Memory of John Anthony Osborn". Adv. Synth. Catal. 343: 3–4. doi:10.1002/1615-4169(20010129)343:1<3::AID-ADSC3>3.0.CO;2-Q.
  2. ^ Osborn, J. A.; Jardine, F. H.; Young, J. F.; Wilkinson, G. (1966). "The Preparation and Properties of Tris(triphenylphosphine)halogenorhodium(I) and Some Reactions Thereof Including Catalytic Homogeneous Hydrogenation of Olefins and Acetylenes and Their Derivatives". J. Chem. Soc. A. 1966: 1711–1732. doi:10.1039/J19660001711.
  3. ^ Thomas, K.; Osborn, J. A.; Powell, A. R.; Wilkinson, G. (1968). "Preparation of Hydridopentammine- and Hydridoaquotetramminerhodium(III) Sulfates and Other Salts; the Formation of Alkyl and Fluoroalkyl derivatives". J. Chem. Soc. A: 1801–1806. doi:10.1039/j19680001801.
  4. ^ Osborn, J. A.; Schrock, R. R. (1971). "Coordinatively unsaturated cationic complexes of rhodium(I), iridium(I), palladium(II), and platinum(II). Generation, synthetic utility, and some catalytic studies". J. Am. Chem. Soc. 93 (12): 3089–3091. doi:10.1021/ja00741a069.
  5. ^ Schrock, Richard R.; Osborn, John A. (1976). "Catalytic hydrogenation using cationic rhodium complexes. I. Evolution of the catalytic system and the hydrogenation of olefins". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 98 (8): 2134–2143. doi:10.1021/ja00424a020. ISSN 0002-7863.
  6. ^ Schrock, Richard R.; Osborn, John A. (1976). "Catalytic hydrogenation using cationic rhodium complexes. II. The selective hydrogenation of alkynes to cis olefins". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 98 (8): 2143–2147. doi:10.1021/ja00424a021. ISSN 0002-7863.
  7. ^ "Ryoji Noyori – Biographical". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  8. ^ Kress, Jacky; Osborn, John A. (1983). "Tungsten carbene complexes in olefin metathesis: a cationic and chiral active species". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 105 (20): 6346–6347. doi:10.1021/ja00358a044. ISSN 0002-7863.
  9. ^ Huser, Marc; Youinou, Marie‐ Thérèse; Osborn, John A. (1989). "Chlorocarbon Activation: Catalytic Carbonylation of Dichloromethane and Chlorobenzene". Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English. 28 (10): 1386–1388. doi:10.1002/anie.198913861. ISSN 0570-0833.
  10. ^ Steffanut, Pascal; Osborn, John A.; DeCian, Andre; Fisher, Jean (2 October 1998). "Efficient Homogeneous Hydrosilylation of Olefins by Use of Complexes of Pt0 with Selected Electron-Deficient Olefins as Ligands". Chemistry - A European Journal. 4 (10): 2008–2017. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1521-3765(19981002)4:10<2008::AID-CHEM2008>3.0.CO;2-K. ISSN 0947-6539.
  11. ^ Ng Cheong Chan, Y.; Osborn, J. A. (1990). "Iridium(III) hydride complexes for the catalytic enantioselective hydrogenation of imines". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 112 (25): 9400–9401. doi:10.1021/ja00181a056. ISSN 0002-7863.
  12. ^ Bellemin‐Laponnaz, Stéphane; Gisie, Hervé; Le Ny, Jean Pierre; Osborn, John A. (16 May 1997). "Mechanistic Insights into the Very Efficient [ReO3OSiR3]‐Catalyzed Isomerization of Allyl Alcohols". Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English. 36 (9): 976–978. doi:10.1002/anie.199709761. ISSN 0570-0833.
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